JBL S38 Bookshelf Speakers

JBL S38 Bookshelf Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

3-way bookshelf speaker. 8" PolyPlasâ„¢ bass driver. 4" PolyPlasâ„¢ midrange driver. 1" Pure Titanium dome tweeter.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 91-100 of 154  
[Nov 25, 2001]
Joe Sabato
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clarity, Dynamics, Ability to play loud without strain ( I have a "dead" room). Good bass response.

Weakness:

No major weaknesses

Great sounding speakers, especially for the price. The horizontal orientation was a plus for me since my Projection set has bookshelves around it and (these fit and look great), at the same height as the S-Center aimed slightly down give a great front soundstage with no "vertical shift" on left to right pans. ( Yeah, I know they would sound better on stands, but there have to be some compromises for domestic peace, I have 7 speakers in the room, 2 of them being large towers for sub-bass, no use pushing it). By the way, the S-Centers 3 way design avoids the sound shifts off axis that most other centers give. Highly reccomended; see reviews in the major audio mags for details.

Similar Products Used:

Many other brands over the years

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 01, 2001]
Bleo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

crisp clear sound , great design

Weakness:

none

I use them as rear speaker.

My system:

TV :Pioneer SD-P62A5-K 62"
VCR: Samsung SV-5000W
AVReceiver: Pioneer Elite VSX-21
DVD:Pioneer Elite DV-37
Front: Wharfedale MFM-5
Rear: JBL S38
Center: JBL N-Center (will be replaced...)
Subwoofer: JBL PB-12

Similar Products Used:

Wharfedale MFM-5

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 22, 2001]
henry li
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

well, everything about it is alright

Weakness:

built quality, look

it sound kinda...bad(so far).I dont know why 5 star was given every where to these speakers...well. when I got them from consumer direct one of them was not working, didnt want to wait so I just opened it, what a joke one of the wire was not pluged...(did those guys open it took a look and forgot to plug it back or testing how high it can bounce from second floor hard to imaging)the speaker by them self sounds like sth is missing. at the same time they do look ugly to me. yeah well I might place them wrong or something(like its that big deal). first few week of get in to these stuff, glad if someone can help.

Similar Products Used:

monitor audio s4i, bose, psb

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 24, 2002]
Joe
Audiophile

Strength:

Value,Build,Sound

Weakness:

ZERO FOR THE $$$$$$

We bought these speakers w/o listening to them. I read the review is Stereophile then checked out the reviews @ Audio review. The speakers (2 pairs) are for business use (Bar). Remember they will be played everyday (Audio & TV broadcast) 365 days a year. Only time will tell how well they hold up. But with the very inexpensive extended warranty through Etronics you can’t lose.
Well, about the sound?
For this application (the bar) and the price they’re unbeatable. They sound good in all styles of music, especially rock & modern. They have a nice full sound with good bass, and can play loud. Also being a horizontally oriented speaker there great for hanging from the ceiling or wall mounting. They are not an audiophile grade speaker and I couldn’t live with them at home. But they are a great value and they fit this application perfectly.
If you’re in the Baltimore area. Look up Racers Café in Parkville and give them a listen.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 24, 2002]
Manoj Vishnu
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Strong overall. Looks great w/o the grill

Weakness:

none

I love the sound of music on my s38's. The tweeters work great! The base levels are good too. No complainst what so ever.

Similar Products Used:

nothing to compare

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 25, 2002]
Tom Johnson
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Nice to look at. Big boomy sound. Very well defined sound field for home theater.

Weakness:

Big, at least they are for a bookshelf speaker.

These are very good speakers. Suprising bass from a small box, but much better sound when I added a Velodyne 1012x Sub. The speakers are really "cool" to look at, but, alas, my wife makes me leave the grills on. The only problem I've had with these speakers is that they are large, very large and extremely heavy. But, if that's the price I pay for the sound quality I get from these babies, then so be it. These rock!

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Cerwin Vega and Infinity

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 25, 2002]
Chuck Corsillo
Audio Enthusiast

I'm not ready to write a review yet, although after one month, I love them more than the Missions I had for over a year....

They go great with my S-Center which I've had for about 15 months. It's part of the reason I bought them....any way, here are some pics I thought I'd share:

http://www.geocities.com/chuckster042001/index.html

http://www.geocities.com/chuckster042000/pics1.html

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 04, 2002]
Matt Gattiker
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Everything

Weakness:

Awkward Cabinent

The speakers are amazing. When listening to them at a dealer, I had no idea how great they really were. For a smaller sized woofer, they produce incredible bass, something I had not planned on, or even purchased them for. They are also unbelievably clear in the high frequencies. I have an old Pioneer Pro-Logic reciever and cd player and these are setup as the main speakers. Despite the Pro-Logic, these speakers sound incredible while watching movies. I use them in tandem with the S-Center and a pair of JBL N24's as the rear channel. Music, however, is mindblowing. I crank them up to a decent volume and they show no strain or distortion. The only downside is there dimensions. I find it very hard to place them.

One other thing I feel useful to mention. I had a problem with the right speaker a few months ago. The rear panel was coming apart from the rest of the cabinent. A quick call to JBL, and I found out that, despite claims on the website, Etronics.com is NOT an autorized retailer of JBL products. Despite this setback, they agreed to fix the speaker under warranty. Sounds good as new! On top of a great product, great customer service!

Similar Products Used:

A few

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 27, 2001]
Robert
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

detail

Weakness:

none that I can think of

I had a very old pair of JBL 830t's that fit perfectly along my living room wall where my old entertainment center was. My wife always hated it decided to buy a very nice three-piece entertainment with the two matching bookcases the problem was we just did not have room for the new entertainment center and those very large JBL's towers against that wall. The S38's fit into the second shelf of the entertainment center perfectly.

My first impression was I loved the clarity, but must I missed the deep base the two passive 8"woofers provided by the old towers. The solution was easily answered with the purchase of a JBL PB-10 powered sub. I have to say this combination is amazing. I do not believe I've heard anything in or near the price range that sound nearly as good. The life like definition clarity and dynamics the S38's have alone is remarkable, but with a powered sub added you'll be blown away.


Sony 36" TV
Sony STRDE 875 Dolby Digital/DTS receiver 100watts x 5
Sony 600n DVD
Sony 5 disk carousel CD player
JBL S38 front left right
JBL S-Center
JBL HP-82bs in the rear
JBL PB-10 powered Subwoofer

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 03, 2001]
Wei Wang
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

good soundstage, good bass response for a stand alone speaker system

Weakness:

The speakers somehow give a constrained feel to the sound, it's like a veil has been draped over the sound coming out of these speakers.

Overall, these are nice speakers.

However, one major issue I have with these speakers is that they somehow put a constrained feel to the sound they produce. I tested out a pair of N38, the sound presentation was more open and life like. I guess it could be due to the bigger cabinets N38 use. I also compared it with S310, the same thing. I guess the S38's cabinet size puts some constraint on the kind of sound these speakers can produce.

I eventually returned the set. I would recommend getting a pair of N38. They are less expensive and give a more open sound and better bass response.

Similar Products Used:

Tested JBL S26, S310, N38, N26

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
Showing 91-100 of 154  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com